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Black day for diggers in Afghanistan

21 June 2010 18:35 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. It was another dark day for troops fighting in Afghanistan, with three Australian Commandos and a US soldier killed in a helicopter crash, APA reports quoting â€œABC Newsâ€.
In a Special Operations Task Group involving elite commandoes, a further seven soldiers were injured when the helicopter ferrying them to battle crashed in mysterious circumstances.
The plan was to mount a stealth attack on bandits controlling a key road, south of the main Australian base.
The Chinook, understood to be American, lifted off from Tarin Kowt with 10 Australian special forces soldiers onboard. But before the mission could start, something went catastrophically wrong.
Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said the crash at 3:39am Monday (local time) was not the result of enemy action.
He said the seven other Australians on board the helicopter were being treated for their wounds.
"Two are very seriously wounded with one undergoing surgery and one is in intensive care at an ISAF medical facility," he said.
"These soldiers, along with one of the less seriously wounded, will be moved to the US military hospital in Bagram later today once their condition stabilises."
Other choppers carrying Australian troops to the mission landed and gave first aid.
There was no sign of a Taliban attack.
Air Chief Marshal Houston said as operations were ongoing he was unable to provide more details, but he did confirm all three of the soldiers killed had previously served in Afghanistan.
"These three soldiers were members of a very impressive group of soldiers who were highly skilled and highly motivated," he said.
"Just last week they were involved in an operation at Shah Wali Kot which dealt a major blow to Taliban insurgents in Northern Kandahar province."
A NATO spokeswoman in Kabul confirmed that a US soldier was also killed in the crash.
The crash was Australia’s deadliest single incident in the nearly nine-year conflict. Air Chief Marshal Houston said the cause of the crash would be investigated.
Defence Minister John Faulkner said the loss of the "three courageous soldiers" was a tragedy.
"This most dangerous theatre of operations has claimed five Australian lives in just two weeks and it’s with very great sadness that we are here today to inform you of these casualties," he said.
"This is a tragic day for Australia and the Australian Defence force and an absolutely devastating day for the families and friends of these young men.
’You’ve got to keep going’
The deaths bring to 16 the number of Australian soldiers killed in Afghanistan. The most recent deaths, Sappers Darren Smith and Jacob Moerland, died in a roadside bomb blast two weeks ago.
There are more US forces in Afghanistan and tens of thousands more on their way as part of the much-vaunted surge against the Taliban.
Major-General Jim Molan retired two years ago after serving as chief of operation for coalition forces in Iraq.
He says the military operation that the soldiers would have undertaken would not have been unusual, but that "good leadership and mateship" will help them in Afghanistan.
"It’s a luxury in a situation like this if you can stop an operation and pull out the people that are closest to those that were killed," he said.
"Invariably, in a serious fight - as Afghanistan is and as our special forces are conducting in Northern Kandahar - you can’t stop, you’ve got to keep going.
"The leaders will lead them and they will help each other, but they’ve got to keep on going."
Major General Molan says there will continue to be casualties.
"How long can you make these soldiers continually go back and do it and could you achieve a better success with a more balanced force over there - not just the special forces, but other troops as well?" he said.
"But these were extraordinarily experienced soldiers. In combat, you can be as good and as experienced as you like and it’s almost inevitable that we’ll take casualties."
In coming weeks the tempo of fighting will increase and the spectre of more combat deaths looms large, Air Chief Marshal Houston says.
"I think it’s inevitable with such a large increase in force and all the operations that are ongoing that there will be more violent incidents," he said.
The Government insists it will stay the course, refusing to say how long troops will remain in Afghanistan.
But Australia is now a hostage to US policy. After the mid-year surge, the United States says it is planning a mid-2011 troop drawdown.